Social Impact Assessment Method Research Articles

Life cycle sustainability assessment method for concrete

AbstractThis study aimed to develop a life cycle sustainability assessment method for concrete. An environmental impact assessment method was developed using the ELCA technique announced through the ISO 14,040 Series and KOLID, one of the life cycle impact assessment indicators. A life cycle cost assessment method was developed based on the unit price of materials and energy consumption according to the Korea Price Information. A Social Impact Assessment Method was developed by identifying appropriate major social topics and analyzing those suggested by the international organizations (UNEP). In accordance with the ‘Towards a Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment’ proposed by UNEP/SETAC, a Sustainable Concrete Index (SCI) was developed that integrates environmental, economic, and social aspects. In addition, the environmental impact of Korea’s 544 concrete types was classified by compressive strength, and the mode value was proposed as a standard concrete (environmental impact 6,662–10,785 KRW(5.02–8.12 USD), production cost 66,549–79,030 KRW(50.13–59.53 USD) so that it could be compared with the assessment concrete. As a result of selecting one ready-mix concrete business place in Korea and conducting a case study by comparing it with standard concrete, EI, CI, SI, and SCI, were analyzed to be 1.135, 1.134, 0.830, and 1.033, respectively, making it possible to quantitatively evaluate concrete sustainability.

Unleashing circular economy potential in agriculture: Integrating social impact assessment with the ReSOLVE framework as a tool for sustainable development

AbstractThe circular economy concept has grown in popularity in recent decades as a potential method to offset the waste produced by the linear economy model. In this study, the authors proposed an update to the ReSOLVE framework that includes social impacts and uses decision variables based on the ECOGRAI methodology to facilitate a system‐wide analysis to support sustainable decision‐making. After the updated framework was outlined, it was employed in a theoretical case study to evaluate the current state of the poultry industry and determine hotspots where circular economy metrics could be implemented to benefit affected stakeholders. While the poultry sector was used as a case study, the proposed framework can be applied with modified indicators in other agricultural sectors. This work demonstrated that decision makers can improve the agriculture sector's high social and environmental impact by applying a framework that integrates ReSOLVE circular economy principles and social impact assessment methods.

Sustainable biodiesel supply chain model based on waste animal fat with subsidy and advertisement

The need for sustainable energy generation has grown in response to ascending levels of green house gases emissions and soaring energy demand. Biofuel is viewed as a viable alternative to non-renewable energy sources for energy generation. Animal fat, waste cooking oil, and vegetable oil are all examples of biomass that can be utilized to make biodiesel. In the midst of these sources’ animal fat is an acceptable choice due to its cheap cost and convenience of availability. The multi-objective mathematical optimization model is created to plan a sustainable supply chain for biodiesel made from waste animal fat. The proposed model minimizes the biodiesel supply chain cost, furthermore, minimizing the environmental impact while maximizing social impact. The demand for biodiesel is depending on advertisement costs and subsidies provided by the government. The advertisements promote biodiesel as an alternative to fossil fuels, and the government gives a subsidy for the collection of waste animal fat. The improved “augmented ϵ-constraint approach” is used to solve the proposed model. The multiple supply points for beef, mutton, and chicken fat, multi-collection and rendering plants, multiple biorefineries, and biodiesel depositories are designed. A numerical example is analyzed, and the consequences of a numerical experiment uncover that the transportation cost is 51.34% and installation cost of biodiesel production facilities accounts for 21.26% of the total cost, and the environmental installation impact of biodiesel production facilities accounts for 99.94% of total environmental impact. In the transportation sector, the heterogeneous fleet of trucks is employed to supply materials in the entire supply chain by which environmental transportation impacts account for 0.0005% of total environmental impacts. The social impact is examined by the social impact assessment method focused on life cycle assessment which is 1.363% for this model. The designed model can be appropriate to policymakers and investors engaged in the biodiesel industry.

Exploring the global and local social sustainability of wind energy technologies: An application of a social impact assessment framework

A transition to renewable energy sources is needed in the EU countries to achieve their goal of a low-carbon economy. This transition may come with potentially negative impacts on the well-being of the population, both globally and locally. Such social impacts are not yet systematically assessed for renewable energy technologies. In this paper, a social impact assessment framework for renewable energy technologies is developed and applied for a wind energy case study. The assessed social categories comprise impacts on human health, human rights infractions, working conditions, local job creation, quality of residential life, landscape quality. In order to cover this broad field of social impacts, four distinct social impact assessment methods were combined in a common social impact assessment framework. The application of the framework was demonstrated by means of the wind energy case study. The results are presented in the form of a social sustainability dashboard comprising 23 social impact indicators covering both global and local well-being impacts. The analysis showed that the life cycle material demand of offshore wind projects has larger impacts on global well-being than the onshore alternatives. For the local dimension, the offshore case was found to be less intrusive for the local population.

Development of a social impact assessment method and application to a case study of sugarcane, sugar, and ethanol in Thailand

The implementation of midpoint, endpoint, and single score assessments to support decision-making remains a major challenge for developing a coherent social impact assessment methodology. The simple weighted sum approach and normalization technique for single score assessments have been problematic and the final results do not realistically represent stakeholder perspectives due to mis/over-interpretations. The focus of this study is to develop a weighting scheme for social impact assessment. The developed scheme is then evaluated using a case study on social impact assessment of the sugarcane sector in Thailand. A weighted aggregation method has been developed for assessing different categories and sub-categories of social dimensions. The performance indicators for each sub-category determine the accuracy of the impact results by establishing the rating weight of the importance of social aspects and satisfaction. The developed method is then applied to a case study on sugarcane-based ethanol production in Thailand. The stakeholders involved in the sugarcane sector comprising sugarcane, sugar, and ethanol production include cane growers, cane workers, sugar factory, and ethanol factory workers. The social issues related to stakeholders in sugarcane, sugar, and ethanol production must fit the cause-effect chain, which can help not only in defining the specific social aspects to meet the appropriate sub-categories and performance indicators but also in facilitating the data collection. The characterized/inventory result can be improved by using the weighting factor of importance of social aspects and satisfaction. The results of the social impact performance score reveal that including the weighting of the importance of social aspects and satisfaction affects the result of the impact sub-categories and social categories. The case study revealed that the relevant impact categories of cane growers are (1) land tenure; (2) access to knowledge, facility, and natural resources; (3) employment, wages, and labor conditions; (4) equity; and (5) human health and safety. On the other hand, the impact categories of cane workers, sugar factory workers, and ethanol factory workers are (1) decent livelihood, (2) labor rights, (3) equity, and (4) human health and safety. The social impact assessment method with developed weighting scheme can help the government and private sectors prioritize their efforts in minimizing negative social impacts throughout the life cycle of biofuel systems. However, the data on the importance of social aspects and satisfaction is subjective; uncertainty analysis or sensitivity analysis must therefore be applied to further observe the variation of different options to facilitate decision-making.

A method for economic input-output social impact analysis with application to U.S. advanced manufacturing

Industrial sustainability performance has, up until recently, been mainly based on a combination of economic and environmental measures. The social dimension of sustainability performance remains largely unknown. The lack of understanding of social performance, i.e., how stakeholder needs are impacted by industrial production, limits the capacity of decision makers to pursue fully informed choices. Fortunately, large quantities of economic and social data exist in the public domain. The vast economic and social data enable the creation of industry-related social impact metrics that can describe how industry directly affects society. However, assessing social impacts in an economy requires a multidisciplinary modeling approach. The proposed method, economic input-output social impact assessment, is developed to integrate economic production with two new social impact metrics based on employee/worker-needs: Cost Of Injuries identifies employee safety/security needs, and Employees below a Living Wage identifies worker basic needs. The model is applied using a case study that introduces the economically important and technologically innovative Advanced Manufacturing cluster of industries in the United States. In 2012, Advanced Manufacturing represented over 39% of U.S. manufacturing output and 7.8%, or $2.25 trillion. of the U.S. total economic output ranking 6th in the total economy. As a result of the model, Advanced Manufacturing was attributed 8.5%, or $1.3 billion, for the total national social impacts of Cost Of Injuries, ranking 5th in the U.S. economy. Advanced Manufacturing was also attributed 3.5%, or 3 million employees, for the total national social impacts of Employees below a Living Wage, ranking 12th out of the 16 economic sectors studied. The economic input-output social impact assessment method is demonstrated to provide a measurable path forward to evaluate the social performance of industries.

System dynamic simulation: A new method in social impact assessment (SIA)

Many complex social questions are difficult to address adequately with conventional methods and techniques, due to the complicated dynamics, and hard to quantify social processes. Despite these difficulties researchers and practitioners have attempted to use conventional methods not only in evaluative modes but also in predictive modes to inform decision making. The effectiveness of SIAs would be increased if they were used to support the project design processes. This requires deliberate use of lessons from retrospective assessments to inform predictive assessments. Social simulations may be a useful tool for developing a predictive SIA method. There have been limited attempts to develop computer simulations that allow social impacts to be explored and understood before implementing development projects. In light of this argument, this paper aims to introduce system dynamic (SD) simulation as a new predictive SIA method in large development projects. We propose the potential value of the SD approach to simulate social impacts of development projects. We use data from the SIA of Gareh-Bygone floodwater spreading project to illustrate the potential of SD simulation in SIA. It was concluded that in comparison to traditional SIA methods SD simulation can integrate quantitative and qualitative inputs from different sources and methods and provides a more effective and dynamic assessment of social impacts for development projects. We recommend future research to investigate the full potential of SD in SIA in comparing different situations and scenarios.

Putting social impact assessment to the test as a method for implementing responsible tourism practice

The discourse on the social impacts of tourism needs to shift from the current descriptive critique of tourism to considering what can be done in actual practice to embed the management of tourism's social impacts into the existing planning, product development and operational processes of tourism businesses. A pragmatic approach for designing research methodologies, social management systems and initial actions, which is shaped by the real world operational constraints and existing systems used in the tourism industry, is needed. Our pilot study with a small Bulgarian travel company put social impact assessment (SIA) to the test to see if it could provide this desired approach and assist in implementing responsible tourism development practice, especially in small tourism businesses. Our findings showed that our adapted SIA method has value as a practical method for embedding a responsible tourism approach. While there were some challenges, SIA proved to be effective in assisting the staff of our test case tourism business to better understand their social impacts on their local communities and to identify actions to take.

Firms' Choice of a Social Impact Measurement Method to Evaluate Base of the Pyramid Strategies: A Decision Support Framework

The need to measure the social impact of Bottom of the Pyramid (BOP) strategies has become a consensus in the field, but identifying how to approach such an undertaking remains a challenge for firms. This paper builds on a research collaboration with a Multinational Corporation (MNC) engaged in housing programs at the BOP. This paper proposes a framework to assist in the firm’s choice of a social impact assessment method according to its objectives. Three categories of social impact evaluation methods are identified: ready-to-use tools, in-house methods and statistical methods. The different objectives that a firm may set for its impact assessment are accountability and communication, program improvement in the short run, and innovation in the long run. We propose to link each of the objectives to one method category and thereby facilitate the MNC’s choice of a social impact assessment method.

Introduction: building on the legacy contributions of William R. Freudenburg in environmental studies and sociology

One of the most essential ways of ensuring continued advances in scholarship is to identify and nurture those ideas and insights with the greatest potential for enhancing our understanding of the ways things work (and the ways they do not). This special edition of JESS is dedicated to just this task, by focusing on the ideas and insights of a scholar who had a special talent for planting such intellectual seeds, especially in the areas of rural and environmental sociology as well as environmental studies. That scholar, William R. Freudenburg, passed away on December 28, 2010 at a young 59 years, having finally lost his 18-month battle with bile duct cancer, a battle which—according to his doctors—he should have lost much sooner. In this special issue we highlight several areas of intellectual contributions by Dr. Freudenburg, in essence tracing his historical development as a scholar from his initial graduate student work on “energy boomtowns” in Colorado, to his latest work on un-natural disasters, which was capped by publication of Blowout in the Gulf: The BP Oil Spill Disaster and the Future of Energy in America. That book came out shortly before his untimely death, having been written with long-time collaborator Robert Gramling in the mind-bogglingly fast period of 2 months. The respect, admiration, and affection for Bill felt by his students, both current and past, and colleagues was on display at “Freudenfest,” a symposium held in November, 2010 at Bill’s home campus, the University of California at Santa Barbara, to honor Bill and his many contributions. The contents of this special issue consist primarily of papers generated from the presentations offered at Freudenfest, all of which highlighted different aspects of Bill’s scholarly contributions. As the following papers will exemplify, Bill’s work typically involved a creative synthesis of qualitative and quantitative evidence, solidly grounded in sociological theory, and often cast with an eye toward policy relevance. This approach enabled Bill to break two particularly formidable boundaries. First, he found himself at the center of policy debates—one of a striking few sociologists to be called upon by official bodies to contribute to debates in which participation from academe was, and continues today, to be dominated by natural scientists and economists. His success at breaching this boundary is most clearly marked by his article on risk assessment in the journal Science (Freudenburg 1988), a rare social science contribution in this prestigious journal. Bill wrote at length about the need for, and strategies to improve upon, social scientific contributions to environmental and technological policy (Freudenburg 1989; Freudenburg and Gramling 2002; Freudenburg 2005a), particularly in the area of social impact assessment methods (e.g., Freudenburg and Keating 1985). His enthusiasm for contributing to policy was evident early in his career, when he was accepted into the ASA’s Congressional Fellow program, working with the Committee on Energy and Commerce in the US House of Representatives (1983–1984). Bill compiled an exemplary record of service on prestigious advisory panels and boards,

Social Development Needs Analysis as a tool for SIA to guide corporate-community investment: Applications in the minerals industry

Mining companies are faced with growing societal demands that a sufficient portion of the benefits from mining should flow to local communities to ensure they are adequately compensated for the negative social impacts they experience. This paper considers how a more equitable benefit distribution system can be achieved through voluntary initiatives, recognising companies as potential agents for social development through the provision of improved services and infrastructure, capacity-building, employment and local economic development initiatives. Social Development Needs Analysis is introduced as an enhancement to participatory Social Impact Assessment methods to give practical guidance to site managers in evaluating community investment alternatives. Social Development Needs Analysis aims to identify the priority social issues that need to be addressed in order for a company to contribute to a net positive impact in the community while building assets for the business.

The importance of process in social impact assessment: Ethics, methods and process for cross-cultural engagement

Social impact assessment (SIA) presents an important opportunity to draw cross-cultural encounters arising from project-based development efforts into wider procedures of engagement and negotiation that might address the imbalance in relationships between local communities, project proponents and states. In the SIA literature, however, ethical considerations have received relatively little explicit attention, with greater attention given to outcomes in the form of negotiated agreements and financial and employment results. This paper considers the question of SIA methods from the standpoint of recent Australian national guidelines on ethical engagement with Australian Indigenous people, and argues for much greater attention being given to process and its implications for just and sustainable outcomes in SIA research.

Limitations of Resident Perception Surveys for Understanding Tourism Social Impacts The Need for Triangulation

Resident perceptions survey (RPS) approaches to social impact assessment (SIA) in tourism are currently in vogue, but little discussion has taken place over the validity of this approach to SIA. This paper contends that there are serious limitations involved in RPS approaches when employed as a stand-alone SIA method, which throw doubt on whether the results obtained from these surveys in fact indicate actual impacts from tourism at all. While it is not disputed that the RPS approach can be an important SIA tool, it is argued that RPS results—if they are to be accepted as valid measures of social impacts—need to be supplemented by other research data, such as that obtained from visitor surveys, participant observation, in-depth interviews and, of particular focus in this paper, quantitative social indicator research. An integrated approach is recommended that aims to determine whether the impacts indicated in RPS results derive from tourism development or are caused by external factors, including factors that may well be ‘imaginary’ in nature. Hence, a combined approach attempts to triangulate the causal variables underlying the perceived impacts. The importance of undertaking such triangulation is not only to further understanding of the effects of tourism development on host communities, but to ensure that the incorporation of resident attitudes into tourism planning is undertaken in an informed manner that will benefit all concerned.

An assessment of social impacts of national parks on communities in Quebec, Canada

Numerous national parks have been established worldwide to protect nature, but this has not been without social consequences for neighbouring communities. Since the social and economic vitality of adjacent communities is being recognized more and more as indispensable for the success of conservation objectives, the quality of park-community relations has become a critical issue. A four-year investigation into the social impacts engendered by two national parks situated in the Saguenay region of Quebec (Canada) was conducted, according to a social impact assessment method. Several impacts and changes were identified on resource management, on the local economy, on the tourist industry, on involvement and participation of local actors and on the social organization of the neighbouring communities. The significance of these impacts varied according to the community and the actors involved. The results of the present research point to the determining role of the government in general, and of the park management in particular, in the process of local community development. In this regard, recommendations are addressed to local communities to improve their partnership with national parks.

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The discourse on the social impacts of tourism needs to shift from the current descriptive critique of tourism to considering what can be done in actual practice to embed the management of tourism's social impacts into the existing planning, product development and operational processes of tourism businesses. A pragmatic approach for designing research methodologies, social management systems and initial actions, which is shaped by the real world operational constraints and existing systems used in the tourism industry, is needed. Our pilot study with a small Bulgarian travel company put social impact assessment (SIA) to the test to see if it could provide this desired approach and assist in implementing responsible tourism development practice, especially in small tourism businesses. Our findings showed that our adapted SIA method has value as a practical method for embedding a responsible tourism approach. While there were some challenges, SIA proved to be effective in assisting the staff of our test case tourism business to better understand their social impacts on their local communities and to identify actions to take.

Social Impact Assessment Methods. Edited by Kurt Finsterbusch, Lynn G. Llewellyn, and C.P. Wolf. (Beverly Hills, Calif.: Sage Publications, 1983. Pp. 318. $29.95.)

Social Impact Assessment Methods. Edited by Kurt Finsterbusch, Lynn G. Llewellyn, and C.P. Wolf. (Beverly Hills, Calif.: Sage Publications, 1983. Pp. 318. $29.95.)

Social impact assessment of regional plans: a review of methods and issues and a recommended process

Social impact assessment (SIA) is defined and related to other policy analysis techniques. Conceptual problems in conducting SIA are reviewed. Various SIA methods are identified and evaluated for their probable effectiveness in assessing regional plans. Regional planning conditions are identified and constraints to, and demands on, SIA are examined. A strategy for SIA is proposed which uses public inputs during cyclical planning iterations for efficiently identifying and assessing the most important social impacts.

Social impact assessment-methods and practice: (SSC) By Karen Michaelson and Jon Van Tassell. (Department of Anthropology, State University of New York, Binghamton, New York 13901, USA), Summer 1977, 164 pp. $1.00

Social impact assessment-methods and practice: (SSC) By Karen Michaelson and Jon Van Tassell. (Department of Anthropology, State University of New York, Binghamton, New York 13901, USA), Summer 1977, 164 pp. $1.00